Page 68 of Hard Corps (Selected Sinners MC 7)

CHAPTER THIRTY

Early Winter 2014, Austin, Texas, USA

In what was to be our pre-fight celebration, we left the kids with the grandparents and had gone out on the town the night before Shane’s heavyweight championship fight. He was an extremely humble man, and he certainly didn’t act like the celebrity he had become. He was soon going to be fighting in a match with tens of millions of people watching which would net him in excess of 50 million dollars if he won. To be in his presence, however, a person would have no idea he was any different than anyone else.

I couldn’t help but admire his simplistic way of living life. His quiet and humble demeanor resembled mine in many ways. He was not one to tell stories about the events of his life, and didn’t care to brag about what his accomplishments were. Ripp was a completely different person, and I felt that Shane and I both lived vicariously through him.

After a late night of drinking and listening to Ripp’s stories, one of which was about him throwing up on his daughter after smelling her diaper, we decided to call it a night.

“Big fight tomorrow, Dekk,” I said as I patted Shane on the back.

Walking down the sidewalk with his arm over Kace, he glanced over his shoulder and grinned. “Hope I don’t embarrass myself.”

“All you can do is give it your best, Brother,” I said.

“He’s gonna smash that dude,” Ripp said.

Shane’s opponent, ‘Tick-Tock’ Brock earned his nickname from knocking out his rivals in a matter of minutes. According to his camp, the clock ticked past the seconds until the inevitable happened.

He was massive, he was strong, and he was as mean of a boxer to ever step in the ring with anyone. But, in my opinion, he wasn’t as determined as Shane. All Shane needed to do was get angry. And making him angry wasn’t always an easy feat.

“It’s not going to be that easy, Ripp. We’ll see,” Shane said as we walked alongside the parking lot where Vee had parked her SUV.

The bar we had been in was in a district labeled Dirty Sixth, which was the east side of 6th street in downtown Austin, and earned its name from being a filthy place to be. The area was filled with bars and other forms of entertainment but deciding what to enjoy and what to avoid wasn’t always easy.

Parking was disastrous, and remote parking areas were generally the only option. Luckily we had found one close to the bar we were patronizing, and by the grace of God, Vee’s SUV wasn’t stolen while we were in the bar.

As we stepped into the parking lot, Vee, Katie, and I walked to the left side of the SUV, and Ripp, Shane, and Kace walked to the right side. Immediately after Vee pressed her key fob and unlocked the vehicle, the dirty side of 6th street emerged.

“Oh my God! Shane!” I heard Kace screech.

Her voice clearly conveyed her fear. I ducked down and peered through the windows toward the other side of the vehicle. Although I couldn’t see everyone, I was able to see all I needed to see.

A man had a gun pointed directly at Shane’s head.

“What happened?” Katie asked.

“Listen,” I whispered as I shifted my eyes back and forth between Vee and Katie. “There’s a man with a gun. Do not walk around the other side of the car. Is that understood?”

“Oh my God,” Katie whispered.

“I’ll be right back,” I said as I leaned forward and kissed her.

She pulled away and glared at me. “Alec, no. He could kill you. I’ll just call the police.”

I glanced through the windows again. The man continued to hold the gun at Shane’s head and seemed to be mumbling demands. There was no time to argue, and there was no time for the police. In a city like Austin, the police wouldn’t arrive for half an hour, and a robbery like this ended – one way or another – in less than five minutes.

“I’ll be right back,” I said.

“Please,” Katie begged.

“Go,” Vee whispered as she wrapped her arm around Katie.

“Alec…”

“I’ll be right back,” I assured her.

As Katie began to softly cry, I slumped my shoulders and sauntered to the other side of the SUV.